Female Athlete Weight: How Low Is Too Low?

Female athlete weight issues don't always get the attention they deserve. When you're on the go during your sport's season, it's all too easy to skip meals or rush through them. Pretty soon, you've lost a few pounds. It might not seem like a big deal, but being underweight affects your endurance and powerâand it might get you passed over for elite teams and programs.

Female athlete weight issues don't always get the attention they deserve. When you're on the go during your sport's season, it's all too easy to skip meals or rush through them. Pretty soon, you've lost a few pounds. It might not seem like a big deal, but being underweight affects your endurance and power—and it might get you passed over for elite teams and programs.

Being underweight can cause:

Low muscle tone

Low power production

Poor endurance

Longer recovery time

The average range of body fat for female athletes is between 18 to 25 percent. Athletes who require speed and agility—runners and sprinters, basketball guards, and softball slappers—should be near 18 to 21 percent. Field players—basketball post players and softball power hitters and pitchers—need to be closer to 23 to 25 percent body fat.

Combining weight with body fat percentage completes the profile. For example, a high school senior weighing 90 pounds with 25 percent body fat has low mass and low muscle, but a 140-pound athlete with 21 percent body fat has a good fat-to-muscle ratio and will likely perform at a competitive level.

Here are some things to avoid if you want to maintain a healthy weight:

Skipping meals

Sugary snacks and beverages

High carbohydrate meals

Processed and packaged foods

Poor sleeping routine

Over-consumption of caffeinated products

Here are some ways to gain weight in a healthy way and improve your muscle tone.

Eat a minimum of three meals a day with 4-6 ounces of lean protein at each meal.

Eat high-protein snacks such as meat and nuts.

Get carbohydrates from fruit or whole grains.

Sleep in complete darkness with the TV and radio off to allow all your senses to rest.

Courtney Hudson
- Courtney Hudson is a former Division II softball player and coach. She made two trips to the Division II College Softball World Series, in 2009 and 2011, as a pitching coach. She holds a personal training and nutrition certification from ACE, and she has over 13 years of experience coaching over 500
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